Opioid overdoses 29% higher in 2020 than before the pandemic: Study
By Dr. Nicholas Nissen
February 10, 2021
A year ago, the U.S. was in the grips of an epidemic — the scourge of opioid addiction, with more than 70,000 lives lost to drug overdoses in 2019, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
The topic was at the center of public health, academic, and political debates.
But it was soon overshadowed by a new threat — the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to latest research, the opioid epidemic did not disappear. Rather, it lurked in the shadows of the coronavirus pandemic, growing in strength and taking advantage of a society now more susceptible than ever.
